Tidal playback to DAC stops 3-4 sec into track

Roon Core Machine

Macbook pro (16", 2019)
MacOS Monterrey

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Gigabit fiber (CenturyLink)
CenturyLink-supplied modem
Google Nest Mesh router
Google Nest wifi points

Connected Audio Devices

Roon core => Topping D70 DAC (USB) => Topping A90 Discrete (balanced) => headphones

Number of Tracks in Library

0 - only use streaming

Description of Issue

My issue almost exactly mimics the one below. However, I haven’t been able to resolve it by restarting any of the devices. Not sure what “resetting the switch” meant exactly in the solution for that one.

To reiterate, Tidal playback stops 3-4 sec into song when the playback device is the D70 DAC. Subsequent attempts to play a track result in a message at the bottom saying (connection to Tidal is slow/unstable) and the track progress slider advancing rapidly through several tracks - skipping several seconds or more each second. Same behavior repeats when app is restarted.

When I try playback through system audio, I have no issues.

Do you mean playback using Roon out to System Audio?

@Rugby correct. When I set output to “system output” everything works fine.

I’ve also tried factory resetting the DAC, the issue persists.

@bronze_ear

Just noticed you were new, so Hi! BTW, I’m a fellow user helping out.

Is the core attached via Ethernet or Wifi? If Wifi, then try using an ethernet cable as a test and see if playback is stable.

Hello! It’s connected via Wifi, and there’s no easy way to connect it via ethernet at the moment.

However, this is almost certainly a device and not a network issue, since playback through Tidal onto the core’s system audio works just fine.

Any updates @Rugby ?

If I connect my DAC to another computer, I’m able to play from Tidal with no issues. When I connect it back to my core, the issue persists. Basically stops playing after 3-4 seconds and then claims to have poor connectivity. The core has no connectivity issues.

Bump, I’m still having this issue. Is there a member of Roon support that can help me?

Hi @bronze_ear,

Please accept our sincere apologies that we missed this thread when you initially posted. For context, the team was dealing with an unusual spike in support requests at the time; however, this is an explanation, not an excuse. We’ll do our very best to demonstrate promptness and courtesy in this thread moving forward.

We’ve investigated routine diagnostics from your account, and there’s evidence Tidal content continues to time out while buffering. Additionally, there are image loading failures associated with album artwork in your local storage.

There are a few steps to try:

  1. First, is your Core connected via ethernet or WiFi? Are you connecting to the main Google router, or to an access point in the mesh network?

  2. It’s possible that there are separate subnets within your mesh network. Google Mesh assigns a single subnet by default, so this would depend on whether you’ve added any custom configuration to your network. It might be worth entering the web administration to double-check. I’d also verify whether you’re using the DNS server assigned by CenturyLink or Google.

  1. There appears to be a considerable volume of cached content in your Core. To completely refresh conditions, try resetting both Roon and RAATServer by following the steps below. Since the Topping DAC is relying on RAAT via the system output (I assume you’re connected via USB?), this may also help stabilize playback to that device:
  • Create a Backup of your current Roon database
  • Exit out of Roon
  • Navigate to your Roon’s Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “Roon” and “RAATServer”
  • Rename “Roon” to “Roon_old” and “RAATServer” to “RAATServer_old”
  • Reinstall Roon from our Downloads Page

We’ll keep a close eye out for your response. Thank you!